Applications in the Cloud - What retail model will work

[Michael Cipriano]

We are going to push out our newsletter tomorrow with a question for our readers on how they would like to purchase applications in the cloud.  In other words, what retail method will work.  In order to get this question to more people, I am posting it here. 

 

Will selling applications in the cloud be a traditional model with consultants making recommendations or will it be like Amazon where you can pick from hundreds of CRM, Accounting, Doc Mgmt and other applications with just online research?  Since there will be very little setup needed (supposedly), why is a consultant necessary.  I think there are probably many good reasons actually.

 

If you look at current retail models there is the Department Store model where many different brands servicing many different industries could be sold.  There is also the Speciality Retailer that might only sell CRM applications or only sell Doc Mgmt applications.  Then there is the Vertical Retailer who focuses in on a particular vertical market like Commercial Real Estate.  This retailer would sell a group of applications targeted for only CRE users, like ACT, Yardi and FileStar (Millennia Group's document management application in the cloud). They would be applications tailored for the industry in ready to use format.

 

In some sense this is a great time to start a business because you can have best in class infrastructure right out of the gate for an affordable price.  What are your thoughts on the best model?

 

 

[CREOpoint]

Thanks for your post Michael we have featured it. My vote is for integrated solutions focused on our industry. Best, JC

[John Corey]

I was listening to a podcast and the person speaking said the key right now is to be multi-modal when sharing information. People want to consume the information in the format they like rather than the format the producer likes. Blog, Twitter, podcasts, video, ebooks, etc.

If there are applications why does there need to be one model for distribution? Is there a fundamental conflict for the seller to make the application available across the models? Assuming we are selling software and we are not focused on DVDs in a box, the different channels can be services from the same back-end.

If the application provider has little domain specific knowledge that will put a bias into how they sell. If they are recognized domain experts then it would be natural to focus on the domains where the expertise provides competitive advantage. The generic ACT product cuts across many sectors and is mostly about managing contacts. Yardi is of no interest to most people as it is specific to a sector. How people buy in that sector will be the key for selling Yardi.

John Corey
Follow me on Twitter-> www.twitter.com/john_corey
www.ChelseaPrivateEquity.com/blog

[Michael Cipriano]

John,

Thanks for the comments. There will no doubt be multiple models, but I would rather be a bricks and mortar grocery store than Peapod right now.

What might some other models look like?

Michael